Two Minds, Your Desire
by NieA
Summary: Something's seriously wrong with Riku, and it's depressing the hell out of Sora. (bad at summaries...) YAOI, will possibly be Riku-Sora-?! (NOT KAIRI) triangle later
1. Chapter 1 Awakening

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NieA here! ^_~' Welcome to the first chapter of my first Kingdom Hearts fanfic! Just a few things I should mention before anyone takes a look at this. First of all, Square owns all. Viva. Second, by all means, feel free to review if you make it through this without falling asleep; feedback is definitely appreciated. And third, I've never written a KH fic or a yaoi fic before (too busy reading to be writing -_-*), so I might have screwed up on alot of things as far as the game itself is concerned. With that said, enjoy!

Chapter One** // Awakening**

The darkness had engulfed him, flayed his only sensation of reality, left him tormented in a world which had no meaning. He had been seduced so effortlessly, and was then left to watch, mortified, as his childhood friend was nearly slain by his own hands. He remembered very little after then, but he knew his body was in pain. Little flickers of lights and sounds would reach him sometimes, until finally everything came back to him in a rush, and he was suddenly conscious again.

The room reeked of flowers and salty ocean air. Her bright features scalded his eyes; had he truly fallen that far? Even the sight of her smile revolted him, and his limbs, though too injured to move, desired to hurt her so.

"Oh, thank goodness, the boy is awake!" The woman stood abruptly from her chair at his bedside and hurried out the door of the small bungalow, leaning slightly over the railing as she called out to someone on the beach below. "Quickly, get Sora! And Kairi! Riku's finally awake!"

... Sora? Kairi? Something within him stirred at the mention of their names, something between an intense eagerness and an intense anxiety. They were alive?? Sora and Kairi both? Well and unharmed, and untainted by the darkness? How had they managed to escape without being consumed as well?

Then the recollection hit him, the lost memories between then and the present revived. He had aided them in their escape, and instead gave himself with the promise of his return.

"Riku!!!"

In the moment that familiar voice sounded in his ears, everything was forgotten. The image of Sora's smiling face and vibrant, tear rimmed eyes filled his mind as he barreled through the door. He almost couldn't believe how different he looked from just a few months ago. Not only was Sora a little taller now, but his body seemed so much more mature from the little boy's figure he had remembered, much more solid and sculpted from his newly acquired strengths. His face, though, still glowed with his boyish innocence, and his voice still bared evidence to that optimistic disposition Sora was known and loved for.

"Riku, you--"

"Riku!!!!!" Cutting Sora off in mid-sentence, Kairi came bursting through the door and darted straight passed him, forcing a surprised little grunt out of Riku as she practically threw herself onto him. His throbbing arms barely caught her as she embraced him tightly. "Oh, Riku, I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Be careful, Kairi." The flower girl said gently as she re-entered the room. She looked vaguely familiar to Riku, though he couldn't quite put a name to her. "He's still in the process of recovering. His strength isn't fully restored quite yet."  


"Oh, sorry!" Kairi apologized cheerfully.

__

They act as though I've come back from the dead... Riku thought as Kairi reluctantly let him go, coming to stand beside Sora. Her familiar smile out-shown her brilliant aquamarine eyes, which now shimmered with tears. However, he couldn't help but feel overcome with confusion as he watched his two childhood friends. He felt no hatred toward them, not as he had when Ansem had taken claim of his body. Now he actually felt... affectionate? It had been so long since such emotions had even occured to him, and now he seemed almost overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that he couldn't help but smile a little... 

"How do you feel?" Sora asked, taking the seat that had once been occupied by the flower girl. Riku's weary eyes then met Sora's intent gaze, and he felt somehow relaxed.

"Been worse." Riku answered with a little grin. Sora let out a light-hearted laugh, his smile reflecting in his eyes. Riku couldn't help but notice, though, that 

Sora's eyes were still glistening slightly with what could have been tears, as were Kairi's. "C'mon, you guys aren't crying for me now, are you?"

"You've been asleep for nearly a month now, Riku. They've missed you." The flower girl said with a compassionate smile.

"A month...?" Riku repeated quietly to himself. So was that why everyone was acting so strange? Either way, he was feeling fine now, and even a little inquisitive. He was pretty sure they were back on Destiny Island, but what was the flower girl doing here? Last time he checked, that was considered meddling. Was meddling somehow permitted now? Or had the fragmented worlds finally united as one? And if so, did the island still look the same? As far as he was concerned, there was only one way to find out, and that was to get up and check it out for himself.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sora asked as Riku slowly came to a sitting position, swung his legs off the side of the bed, and came to stand.

"I think I've been in this bed long enough." Riku said with a faint, almost sarcastic grin. "Now I've gotta make sure I'm not still dreaming."

They watched as Riku took his first step, which was shaky and insecure. He paused for a moment, trying to find some stability in such a simple practice, but it had been a little too long. He faltered on his next step, and found himself falling into Sora's arms.

"You should really stay in bed a little bit longer." Kairi suggested worriedly, her expression painted in genuine concern. Riku tried again to stand, but found himself depending on Sora to keep his balance.

"I'm sorry." Riku murmured, and Sora gave him a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it! C'mon, Kairi. Get his other arm." Kairi nodded, and with both of them supporting him on each side, they stepped out of the bungalow and assisted him to the railing.

He had forgotten just how beautiful this place was. Even though the island was still the same as when he had left it, he felt as though he were viewing it again for the first time. The wooden structures and towering palm trees stood out fondly in his memory as a cherished trademark of his childhood. The air was so fresh and clean, and the weather was as perfect as it had always been, warm with a revitalizing pacific breeze. A light wind brushed delicately against his skin and sifted through his mid-length sliver hair, leaving a gentle smile on his lips and a mesmerized, almost even childish glimmer in his turquoise eyes. The majestic blue of the ocean reached out beyond the horizon, though there was one intricate detail Riku couldn't recall existing before. Etched against the sky was a barely visible form, spanning for what seemed like miles until it faded into the sea.

"What is that?" Riku asked, gesturing towards the oddity with calm gaze.

"I dunno." Sora said with a little shrug. "They were there when we came back to the island. Tidus started calling them the Zanarkand mountains."

A fine silver brow perked inquisitively over Riku's eye. Zanarkand mountains? So if those were mountains out there, then that had to mean there was another world other than the island.

"Wouldn't you love to know what's over there, Sora?" Kairi asked sweetly. Riku couldn't help but notice that she had directed the question to Sora, clearly leaving Riku out _again_. She probably didn't intended to, but either way Riku couldn't help but feel slightly downhearted at the thought of Kairi getting closer to Sora in his absence. 

"Oh, I know!" Kairi exclaimed with a giggle. "Let's go check it out one of these days! It could be an adventure! Don't you think that's a great idea??"

"Yeah!" Sora said, his optimistic grin bringing light to his features. "We could take the raft, if we fix it up a little. It got kinda thrashed in that storm."

"What do you think, Riku?" Kairi stared up at him, smiling, her large blue eyes wide and innocent. Riku just glanced down at her expressionlessly and removed his arms from around their shoulders, then turned and began to walk down the wooden ramp with the little amount of strength he had gained. Something frigid tantalized his heart when he had seen the look in Kairi's eyes, a feeling so familiar it almost scared him. The darkness certainly couldn't still be lingering in his heart. It couldn't be, not after Ansem's defeat, could it? But then why else would he suddenly recoil in disgust at the girl he had known over half his life? 

"I've had enough adventures to last me a lifetime." He murmured almost subconsciously, his voice without emotion. Of course it was hardly true; Riku could never get enough of adventures. However, something inside him couldn't resist it, especially knowing that the response would hurt both Kairi and Sora.

"Riku...?" Kairi's sweet, innocent voice called after him uncertainly. He could hear the quick pace of Sora's big yellow shoes coming up behind him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked kindly. A hand caught Riku gently by the upper arm, requesting silently that he stop and face them, but instead Riku shoved Sora away and continued to the ladder. Sora reached out one more time and caught onto his hand just as he was about descend. "Riku, wait."

Without a response, Riku's eyes shot up to confront Sora, filled with a sudden contempt. Who did the boy think he was, ordering him to wait?! And with such a pathetic look on his face; he actually looked _sympathetic_. Worried. Almost even scared. Sora never used to show such emotions so easily in front of him, not so fluently and over something so trivial. Kairi had done something to him. Something to make him weak, even after everything he had gone through. It was sickening.

Riku impulsively jerked his hand away, subconsciously cringing at the feel of Sora's small act of compassion. His feet then slipped and instantly all his suspended weight put strain on his weakened arm. His eyes still held Sora's as he began to fall, smirking despite himself as the boy leapt forward and grasped desperately to catch him. Sora's strong grip met Riku's wrist, but it was too late for him to keep balance for the both of them. 

They both tumbled downward, Sora crashing down on top of Riku and forcing from him a stifled cry of pain as they smashed into the second ramp. Sora then quickly grabbed onto him and held him almost protectively as they fell off the second level. He somehow managed to twist Riku over him while in midair, so when they slammed into the ground Sora took all the impact.

"D... amn... are you trying to kill me?!" Riku snarled as he weakly rolled off of Sora's body. 

"I'm sorry..." Sora murmured as he came to a sitting position, lightly rubbing an aching spot on his back. He looked worriedly over at Riku, who was knelt over with his hands bracing his weight against the sand. His head was declined, allowing his long platinum hair to conceal his expression. Riku's back heaved with his labored breathing, and his whole body trembled.

"Omigosh, Sora!" Kairi called over the railing. "Are you guys alright???" 

"Get Aerith!" Sora yelled. Kairi nodded and took off running up the ramp toward the bungalow. Sora then returned all his attention to Riku, crawling over to his side. However, Sora didn't make an effort to comfort him, and no words were exchanged between the two. Riku could feel Sora's eyes on him, he knew the look that was on his face without even looking-- contemplating, his eyebrows drawn only a little with a slightly confused expression in his vibrant blue eyes, his soft lips barely curved in an almost childish pout. Sora wanted to say something, but knew not quite what. Riku's sudden change of behavior had thoroughly confused everyone, including himself, and now neither one of the boys had not the slightest idea as to what to do about it.

"Is everyone alright??" The flower girl came running up to the boys, followed by Kairi and... Tidus? She quickly dropped down to the other side of Riku, leaning in slightly to get a look at his face. Little beads of persperation were gathering at his temples, though his expression was now surprisingly calm.

"I'm fine." Riku insisted before Aerith could say another word. "Just give me a potion or something, and I'll be fine."

"You need more rest." Aerith said softly. "One more night should do it, then I'll give you a hi-potion, alright?"

"No, just give me something now." Riku demanded, his voice becoming increasingly forceful. "Just give me a potion and I'll be alright."

"I've gotta potion!" Tidus exclaimed enthusiastically, retrieving a small, blue-tinted bottle from the pouch around his waist. "Here ya go!"

"No, Tidus!" Kairi gasped, only to be ignored. The boy threw the small bottle into the air and it quickly deteriorated. Merely a second after a soft light enveloped Sora's body, and all his scrapes and bruises from the previous fall disappeared.

"Ummm... Thanks!" Sora smiled, though he was a little surprised. He had completely expected the potion to heal Riku, not him.

"Don't worry, I've got another one!" Tidus said cheerfully, digging through the pouch for another potion.

"No!" Kairi, Aerith, and Sora shouted in unison. Tidus stopped and stared at them blankly, the expression on his face unforgettable.

"I mean, that's quite alright!" Aerith murmured, her cheeks reddening a little. "Let's just let him rest a little, then we'll see about it, okay?"

Tidus, the extremely perplexed expression still lingering on his face, dropped the bottle of potion back into his bag and gave a little shrug. "Um... okay."

The three gave a synchronized sigh of relief.

"You guys are really weird."

.....

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::[Owari~

a.n.]:: chapter one, finally completed! i can't believe how much trouble i'm having deciding on what to do with this story -_-* anyway, please don't forget to review! feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

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NieA


	2. Chapter 2 Interferences

NieA here! ^_~ Chapter Two finally completed, and plenty of thanks to those who have thus far reviewed ^_^ And although I love Square dearly, Square, sadly, does not love me -_-* I don't own any copyrights to these characters... yet ^_~ Gimme another 10 years or so, and Square will HAVE to love me... you'll see what I mean. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and please don't forget to leave a review! Feedback is *greatly* appreciated. Thanks!

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- - b e g i n n i n g o f c h a p t e r t w o - - Interferences.

Warmth... it had been so long since he'd felt it... The cold, unrelenting chill had haunted his heart for what seemed like centuries, and now it was finally gone. He had finally felt the graciousness of a good night's sleep, without the darkness tormenting him even in subconsciousness. The visions were pleasant this night as well, possibly because now he had found is way out from the shadows, where such visions could never find him. But every 'vision' has it's ending. As his dreams began to fade, his eyes fluttered open and blinked softly into focus, and his body slowly became physically conscious. Conscious of the big, brown, spiked anonymous _thing_ weighing down on his chest, anyway.

"What the..." Riku stared down at Sora's head resting on his chest, rising and falling softly with Riku's rhythmic breathing. Sora's arms were encircling his head, and his face was buried uncomfortably into Riku's vest. Riku's eyes then scanned the room curiously -- they were alone.

"Umm... Sora?" Riku called gently, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder and giving it a light shake. "Hey, Sora."

"Mmphhh...." 

"Hey, wake up. Your drooling all over my shirt."

"Eh?" Sora's head perked up a little too quickly. His hands flew to his head as a sudden dizzy spell hit him with a sharp headache. "Oww..."

"You alright?" Riku asked with an amused little grin on his face. Sora could be such a moron sometimes...

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Sora flashed Riku his trademark smile, any sign of pain gone from his voice. Luckily the headache was an extremely short lived one. "How 'bout you? Aerith said I could give you a potion now if you still think you need one."

"I'm fine." Riku murmured, sitting up in the small wood framed bed. He felt great, actually. It was almost as if the incident outside the bungalow hadn't taken place at all.

"Great! Pretty soon we'll be able to spar again, just like we used to. With wooden blades and everything."

"Wooden blades?" Riku said, glancing over at Sora almost daringly. "You seriously think you'll be able to defeat me with a wooden blade?"

"Without a doubt." Sora grinned.

"Wanna confirm that?" 

"Are you kidding?? You just got out of bed, Riku. I'd rather you didn't try to put your body to the limit, or else you might get sick again."

"I'm fine." Riku insisted as he slid his feet off the edge of the bed. Sora didn't look at all convinced. "Alright, so I'm probably a little rusty, but you're not so much of a challenge that your gonna beat me into a coma, Sora."

"Tomorrow, okay?" Sora suggested with a promising smile. "Besides, I promised everyone that I'd take you out to the bonfire once you got well again."

"The bonfire?" Riku repeated, a thin silver brow perking with interest. The last time they'd ever had a bonfire on Destiny Island was years ago. Even though he could only vaguely recall what had actually happened then, he could easily remember it being alot of fun.

"Yeah, Selphie and Tidus thought it would cheer you up. So, how 'bout it?"

"Sounds great, I guess." Riku said. "Though I'm still all for sparring."

"I'll think about it." Sora said, though by the grin on his face Riku knew his mind was already made. Absolutely transparent. With a mischievous little grin of his own, Riku followed the brunette out into the warm night. 

-----------------------

Someone could have come across now and rendered Riku blind, and he would have been perfectly content. The image laid out before him was irritating the shit out of him, and even more so because his and Sora's spar-- which was two seconds from taking place-- ended up not happening. And all because of one squealing, giggling little girl with a big, hideous head.

Sora. Kairi. So close, laughing, smiling, completely in their own little world while Riku sat on the log across from theirs and sulked like a child. As for the rest of the world-- they looked absolutely _peachy_.

"Hey." For a moment, Riku was forced away from his loathing and instead shifted his focus to the swordsman that now sat beside him. "I take it you're Riku. I'm Leon."

Riku nodded his subtle greeting; he was still upset over obvious matters, but that didn't need to stop him from wanting to meet the darker swordsman.

"Aerith mentioned that you were skilled behind a blade. Feeling up to a spar, or are you still feeling shitty from yesterday?"

Riku grinned despite himself. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"I see no sense in wasting time on idle chatter when there are more important matters at hand. So, are you up to it?"

"Definitely." Riku said, more than happy to have something to do other than drown in resentment. It wasn't usual for him to do so, but ever since he woke up he seemed absolutely prone to it. A distraction was exactly what he needed, and besides, if Sora could find someone more interesting, Riku could sure as hell find someone too.

"Great." Leon handed Riku a wooden practice sword matching his own, and then lead him a little way down the beach away from the bonfire.

"Think the darkness is going to affect you?"

"Not at all." Riku replied with a smirk -- he knew Leon was referring to the lack of proper lighting, but he couldn't help but think of a whole different kind of Darkness. Ah, whatever. Riku slid into a stance and his opponent did the same. Before another moment passed, the battle had begun.

The two rushed towards each other, and their blades clashed and deflected instantly. Leon then rushed his blade towards Riku's abdomen. Riku quickly dropped into a sideways roll and evaded the move, striking upwards as he fluidly spun back onto his feet. Leon quickly dodged Riku's attack with his blade, then took a sharp step backwards to observe his opponent's stance. Riku was about a second from rushing an attack into his side, propelling off his left foot and putting all his weight into the right. Leon took the opportunity to force Riku's blade aside quickly with his own, taking Riku a little off balance, then delivered a quick blow into his midsection with his shoulder. Riku, unable to control the momentum in time, staggered back a few steps before falling hard on his back.

"Guess I'm still a little rusty..." Riku murmured good humouredly, an amused half grin on his lips. Leon then stepped forward and offered his hand to Riku, and with a malignant little glimmer in his eyes, the silver haired teenager grabbed his opponent by the wrist and thrust him down to the ground. He then quickly and forcefully pinned the swordsman beneath him, his knees straddling Leon's hips and his hands gripping his shoulders tightly.

"But the moment I reclaim my strength," Riku murmured, the slightest hint of a grin still touching the corners of his lips as he dipped down to whisper directly into Leon's ear. "You're finished."

Riku then lifted himself off Leon's body and stood, but the swordsman couldn't bring himself to move. Instead he just stared up into the clear night's sky, trying to disregard the silver haired boy standing only a few feet away from him. The little bastard had beaten him. And not even by skill or strength, but just because he had caught Leon off guard. Leon. Off guard. Who would have imagined?

Ah, whatever. Leon brushed the thought out of his mind, then picked up the wooden sparring sword off the sand and rose to his feet. Not far off, Riku was standing with his back to him, his eyes averted to the sky and his porcelain skin bathed in moonlight. His arms hung loosely at his sides, and shoulders fell slightly, relaxed.

"I've spent nearly my entire life on this island," He murmured softly. "Though it's never failed, not once, to entrance me."

It fell into silence between them, though neither could admit it to feeling at all awkward. Within moments, Riku turned and faced Leon, his expression not revealing a trace of his thoughts. 

"But it's pointless getting emotional about it. You'll see what I mean soon enough, that is, if you're staying here. Are you?"

"Yes," Leon answered, his voice strong though nearly inaudible. "For the time being, anyway."

"Great." Riku said warmly, adding another one of his roguish half grins. "I was beginning to think I was going to get stuck without a sparring partner. Sora's too busy letting Kairi drag herself all over him, and everyone else is weaker than hell."

Leon just nodded vaguely and gave a partial smile. Not the talkative type, Riku guessed.

"How did you get here, anyway?" Riku asked. Leon shrugged a little, allowing his partial smile to falter a little.

"On the gummi ship. We heard you were in bad condition, so Aerith came to help and we all accompanied her. Since then, this is where we've stayed, and it doesn't look like we're going to be leaving for a while."

"Hey, Leon!!! Whatchya doin' way over there??" The silhouette of a petite feminine figure called as she ran in their direction. Leon barely managed to catch his balance in time as the girl pounced onto his back, practically strangling his neck with her arms.

"Get off." Leon growled lethally, though the girl, still attached to Leon's shoulders, instead smiled widely at Riku and waved.

"Hey! You're name is Riku, right?" Riku merely nodded. "I dun think you know me. My name's Yuffie Kisaragi! Nice ta meet ya while you're actually awake! When we got here you looked like crap."

"Thanks." Riku muttered sarcastically. For one reason or another, the girl was beginning to annoy him.

"Yuffie."

"Yup?"

"Get off my back."

"Yup! Sure thing, Squall!" Yuffie hopped down to the ground promptly, and instead took to clasping onto Leon's arm.

"Yuffie." Leon growled again, this time sounding ten times more irritated.

"Yup?"

"It's Leon. Now get off my arm."

"Aww, c'mon, Squa--I mean, Leon! Why are ya acting so mean all of a sudden?" When Leon failed to answer, Yuffie's eyes wandered over to Riku, who didn't look any happier in the least bit. "Ohhh..." Her eyes traveled back to Leon. "I'm not interrupting anything _special_, am I??"

"Don't be rediculous." Leon sighed, then shoved Yuffie off of his arm. "Now go back to the bonfire, will you? I'll be there in a moment."

"Fine." Yuffie sighed, looking dejected for a second or so before instead focusing on Riku's calm expression. "Just to let you know, I think Sora was looking for you. Maybe you should go see what he wants."

"Why don't you tell him that you found us?" Leon suggested. It seemed a little too obvious that Yuffie was trying to gain Leon's attention back for herself, but Leon wasn't at all interested in giving up Riku's company for Yuffie's. Especially since he'd just spent the last couple years putting up with her childish obsession over him. Sure, she wasn't that bad of a girl in general, but she wasn't necessarily the type he'd want hanging all over his back every second of the day. Needless to say, that's exactly what he'd been stuck with.

"I guess I could." She murmured. "Well, later you two!" Yuffie then turned away and took off down the cove.

"Well, She's... cute... I guess." Riku said after Yuffie was already out of sight. Leon just shook his head and sighed a little. When he looked back at Riku, he actually looked the slightest bit amused.

"Sure, when you look at her maybe. I apologize for that, by the way."

"Don't worry about it." Riku then shifted his eyes down the cove, in the direction he knew the bonfire was located. "Well, I'm gonna go see what Sora's up to. Coming?"

"I might as well." Leon decided, then fell in step beside Riku as they made their way down the beach.

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- - e n d o f c h a p t e r t w o - -

*appears, lounged in front of the computer with a random bishounen leaned over her shoulder, glaring into the computer screen*

Yuki. You're pathetic.

NieA. Why now?

Yuki. I thought you were gonna write _my_ fanfic tonight. This doesn't look very Furuba-ish to me.

NieA. I'm working on it.

__

Thanks to all that have taken the time to read my work, hopefully you've enjoyed it so far ^_^ Please remember to leave a review! The more reviews, the happier I am, the more often I update *hint hint* ^_~ Bai bai, for now!!!

Yuki. NieA...

NieA. Yeah, I'm getting to it Prince, just gimme another week or so...

Yuki. A week?!?! I have to wait a _week _on you to get your lazy self to start writing *my* fic, which you *promised* me would be started 47 hours ago... *is wearing an irresistibly _adorable_ Sohma-kun pouty face* ... I could never rely on you for anything, could I...? And I thought you _loved _me...

NieA. .... I'm sorry... *sniffle* ... I do love you, Yuki-kun...

Yuki. No you don't. You can't even write a simple fanfic for me. Now I'm never going to get to hug Tohru or _anyone_ because you hate me.

NieA. ... Yuki-kun...

Yuki. That's it. Forget about me, and go back to your other bishounen! You don't need me! You never loved me to begin with! _I'm so abused!!!_

NieA. *sigh* ... Yes, the Prince is abused. Whatever. Later people.


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